Electrical apparatus



April 23, 1940. H, F, SMITH ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Original Filed May 26,1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENT OR.

///6' ATTORNEYS l I l l I l IIIIJ April 23, 1940. sMlTH 2,198,488

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Original Filed May 26, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

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April 23, 1940. s rrH 2,198,488

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Original Filed May 26, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 5HHHHHHHH \HH l/Le 1N VENTOR.

///S ATTORNEYS April 23, 1940. rr 2,198,488

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Original, Filed May 26, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 am s.

INVENT OR.

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Patented Apr. 23, 1940 PATENT OFFICE mnc'mrcar. Arrm'ros Harry F. Smith,Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Gen-- eral Motors Corporation, Dayton,

poration of Delaware Original application May 26, 1934,

Ohio, a cor- Serial No.

727,774. Divided and this application January 21, 1937, Serial No.

8 Claims.

This invention relates to electrical apparatus and more particularly tothe actuation of awnings, shades or other light transmission modifiersor closures for window or door openings automatically and manually.

This application is a division of my co-pendv ing application, SerialNo. 727,774, which was filed on May 26, 1934.

An object of this invention is to provide control devices for thefixtures associated with the windows, doors or other openings ofedifices in such a manner that they may be controlled with but slightmanual effort or automatically in accordance with various environmentalconditions.

Further objects and advantages of themesent invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation, partly in section and partly inperspective, of a portion of an edifice embodying features of myinvention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the motor drive for the window closure device;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4.- is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 2 showing the controlsin the stopped position;

Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram of the window closure control;

Fig. 6 is a plan view, with the protective screen removed, of the rainresponsive device;

Fig. 7 is an elevation, with the protective screen added, of the deviceshown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7, and

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of a piece of wood indicating how therain responsive reed may be cut therefrom.

My invention is particularly applicable to an edifice such as a house,cfiice building or the like, which is provided with one or more openingsor windows of the character shown in Fig. l, which is representative ofa plurality of such openings or windows throughout the edifice. Thiswindow, door or the like is provided with one or more sash openings ill,each having a closure ii in the form of a window sash or the like and anawning, shade or light transmission modifier it which may overhang oneor more of the sash openings Won the outside of the building. Actuatingmeans and control means, hereafter more fully described, are providedfor actuating the closures H and modifiers l2, not only under manualcontrol, but also automatically in accordance with selectedenvironmental conditions.

The actuation of the awning, shade or light transmission modifier i2 nowwill be more fully described. The awning l2 which is pivotally securedto the building in the usual manner, may be raised or lowered by meansof a cable I3 passing over a pulley l4 and attached to the lower orouter end of the awning at l5. This cable passes over a pulley l6 andwinds around the drum ll which is actuated by the motor l8 under amanual control at is and 20 and under an automatic environmental control2|. The awning is so controlled that it automatically raises, forexample, when the sunlight diminishes below a certain intensity andautomatically lowers when the sunlight increases above a certainintensity. This is accomplished by providing a photoelectric cell 22whichis responsive to such sunlight intensities, and which initiatesimpulses which are relayed eventually to the one or more motors It toactuate properly the awning or awnings I2. The electrical impulsesinitiated at the cell 22 flow to a current intensifying aggregate 23from whence the current thus intensified flows to a master switchstructure 24 which relays a governing current to the various individualrelays 25, placed throughout the edifice, for each window of theedifice. Each relay 2:: controls the flow of standard or city powercurrent to its individual motor is.

The actuation and controls for the closure member or members ii is shownmore in detail in Figs. 2'to 9 inclusive. A series of manuallyactuatable switches ltd, ms and 502 are provided which, by the properenergization of the relay we, energize or deenergize the motor id iwhich in turn actuates the closure member M. The motor iiii is sorelated with respect to the relay Hid that the current to the motor 5%is ,cut oil whenever the closure member it reaches its full closedposition or full open position. in addidii that it closes the closuremember II and prevents rain from blowing into the edifice.

Another control is superimposed on the circuits responsive to positionsof the screen Ill. The arrangement is such that if the screen I shouldbe raised or should fly up under its own tension by being released, theswitch I01 is opened and the flow of current to the motor I04 is stoppedand cannot be resumed until the screen is lowered.

The foregoing results may be accomplished by a wiring arrangement morefully shown in Fig. 5. When the switch I00 is closed, the closure II iscaused to close because current flows. from the battery I08 through theswitch I00 to the relay solenoid I09. The energization of the solenoidI09 moves the contact arm IIO to the right, thus closing the contacts III to I I4. This permits flow of current from the power source II to fiowthrough the motor I04 in the proper direction to close the closuremember II through the gear train hereinafter more fully described. If itis desired to open the window, the switch I02 is closed and this causescurrent to flow from the battery I08 to the relay solenoid I I6. Thismoves the arm IIO to the left, thus closing the contacts I I1 to I andpermits the fiow of current to the motor I04 in the proper manner toopen the window. The relay I03 is provided with two locking arms I2I andI22 which, under the tension of springs I2Ia and I22a respectively tendto lock the contact arm H0 in its closed position either on the right oron the left. Once the contact arm H0 is moved to a closed position, oneof these locking arms I2I or I22 holds the arm IIO closed until thelocking arms are tripped either by the action of the motor I04 itself orby the energization of the solenoid I23.

The motor I04 is mounted on a platform I24 which swings about a fulcrumI25 made in the form of rubber supports. The motor I04 drives a shaftI26, also carried on platform I24, through gears I21, the shaft I20 inturn actuating a belt I28 leading to a shaft I29 which is geared to oneof the closures II. The shaft I29 may be linked by chain I 29a. to othersimilar shafts to operate the other sashes of the window. When movementof the closure II is resisted, either because the closure member reachesits full open or full closed positions or because of some other abnormalre sistance, a tension is placed on the belt I20 so that the platformI24 is lifted about fulcrum I25 from its position in Fig. 2 to theposition shown in Fig. 4. When this occurs, the abutment I30 carried bythe shaft bearing I26a hits the trip link I3I which in turn actuates thetrip levers I2I and I22 and permits the arm H0 to assume its neutralposition, thus stopping the motor I04.

The motor I04 may be stopped under manual control by closing the switchIOI. When this switch is closed, the solenoid structure I23 is energizedwhich in turn attracts the armature I32 carried by trip link I3I.Armature I32 in turn actuates the trip link I3l to trip the levers |2Iand I22 and open the circuit to motor I04.

The control from the screen I06 is as follows: When the screen rises,the switch I01 is opened. This stops flow of current from thetransformer I33 to the solenoid I34. When the solenoid I34 isde-energized, the switch I35 is opened and thus current cannot flow tothe motor I04. This stops the closure member I I wherever it may be.

The rain or other weather condition control I05 is superimposed into theelectric current circult as follows: A moisture responsive reed I bendsdownward when it is moistened, thus closing contacts I. When thisoccurs, current fiows to the solenoid I", thus energizing the motor I04,as heretofore described, and closing the window. In addition, there is arod I42 placed in the path of the window closure II which opens thecontacts I43 when the window reaches its full closed position. Thisprevents continuous flow of current through the solenoid I09 after thewindow has been closed and while the reed I04 is still wet. The rainresponsive device conveniently may be mounted on an insulated platformI44 provided with plugs I45 and I45a which may be plugged intoreceptacles on the window sill and wired into the control system. Thereed I40 normally, when dry, holds up the metal contact arm I46, butwhen it is wet, it lowers and permits the contact arm I46 to lowertowards contact arm I41, thus closing contacts I4I. The contact arm I46connects by the U-shaped extension I40 with plug I45. The platform I44is provided on one of its sides with a metal member I49 which is inelectrical contact with the contact arm I41 and by a longitudinalextension I49a carries one of the contact members I43 and which isactuated by the rod I42 heretofore described. One of the contacts I43 iselectrically connected to the plug I45a. A protective screen I051: maybe placed over the platform I44.

The reed I40 may be made of any material which is sensitive to moisture.At present I prefer to make it of a thin wood strip cut with respect tothe grain of the wood as indicated at M or I40b in Fig. 9. The graintherefore runs substantially parallel with the thickness of the reed.

Sometimes it is desirable to cause the awnings to stay down regardlessof the sunlight intensity. One way of accomplishing this is to provide alantern I50 which shines. into cell 22 with sufficient intensity tolower the awnings. This lantern may be controlled from a switch I5Iwhich has "on and off buttons for lighting and darkening the lanternI50, as will be readily apparent.

While the form of embodiment of the inven tion as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In combination, an edifice having an opening in said edifice, aclosure for said opening, a screen for said opening, means to move saidclosure, means to actuate said last named means in accordance withatmospheric conditions, and means controlled by said screen renderingone of said above named means inoperative.

2. In combination, an edifice having an opening in said edifice, aclosure for said opening, a screen for said opening, means for manuallycontrolling said closure, means for additionally controlling saidclosure in accordance with psychrometric conditions, and meanscontrolled by said screen rendering one of said above named meansinoperative.

means under abnormal resistance to the actuation of said closure, andmeans controlled by said screen rendering one of said means inoperative.

4. In combination with an edifice having an opening, closure members forsaid opening, a motor for operating one of said closure members, acontrol circuit for said motor, a switch in said circuit, first solenoidmeans for operating said switch including a manually operated member forclosing the circuit to said solenoid, second solenoid means foroperating said switch including a member operated by one of said closuremembers for controlling the energization of said second named solenoid,and a third means for mechanically operating said switch including amember responsive to the load on said motor.

5. In combination with an edifice having an opening, a closure memberfor said opening, a motor for opening and closing said closure member, ayieldable mounting for said motor, a control circuit for said motor, aswitch in said circuit, means responsive to atmospheric conditions foroperating said switch so as to initiate operation of said motor, meansresponsive to movement of said mounting for operating said switch,

' and means responsive to the load on said motor for actuating'saidmounting.

means responsive to the position of said screen for controlling one orthe above named means.

8. In combination, an edifice having an opening in one wall thereof, aclosure for said opening, a screen for said opening, means to movesaidclosure, means to actuate said last named means in accordance withatmospheric conditions, means operated by said screen controlling one ofthe above named means, and means for stopping said closure actuatingmeans in response to abnormal resistance to movement of said closuremember.

HARRY F. SMITH.

